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Appraisal Video: (2:42)

GUEST: Well, it came from my parents. And, uh, I'm 62, and I can remember this as long as I live, so... I've always wanted it. (chuckles) When, uh, my parents passed away, my brother had custody of it for a little while, and I demanded it.

APPRAISER: Ah, okay. Well, it's a wonderful, large-format painted screen. What do you know about it?

GUEST: Um, first of all, it's signed "Yoshihiko," but I couldn't find anything about this person.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: The only other thing, my limited knowledge of Japan, looks like, uh, two courtesans with an attending child.

APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: Uh, probably, late Edo period or maybe even Meiji period.

APPRAISER: Well, it's a little later than that. I think it's probably Taisho period. The Taisho era follows the Meiji period. Meiji period was from 1868 to 1912.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And the Taisho period was from 1912 to 1926. At a time where they were really interested in large-scale figures and designs, which actually showed the interaction between Western art and Japanese art, the influence of art deco on large-scale decoration. It looks like it's been a little bit faded. Did you have something done to it?

GUEST: Well, when my mother had it, it was kept in a dark place. But when I acquired it, it was in pretty bad shape, so some cleaning was done. And then it hanged underneath a skylight. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. So it's been faded a bit, yes. I believe it did, mm-hmm, slightly.

APPRAISER: So you had it restored, then?

GUEST: Repaired, more likely.

APPRAISER: I see, I see. Tell me, what did you pay for the restoration?

GUEST: 2,500 bucks.

APPRAISER: Well, let me tell you, that was a very good investment. (chuckles) It's done by Yoshihiko, who was a Taisho artist. And Taisho is a very, very hot commodity, this period between 1912 and 1926. I believe the Honolulu Academy of Art recently had an exhibition called "Taisho Chic."

GUEST: That's what I've been told, yes.

APPRAISER: Right, exactly. So even though the two-panel "byobu"-- or screen, as it's called-- is faded and has had some restoration, it still, on the auction market, would be estimated at about... $7,000 to $10,000. So it was a great investment for you to take good care of it and have it restored.